Mine would have been about 1980, a Vindec. I remember the shop had two Vindec's a ten speed and a five speed. I went for the five speed because it was £10 cheaper. They also had a Raleigh that seemed cheap and nasty at the same sort of price. On reflection it was very old fashioned even for 1980, but I loved that bike gave me freedom that my previous chopper clone didn't.

I sold it to my older sister's boyfriend about the time that I got my driving licence. I should have seen some significance in the fact that although he had a motorbike and a driving licence he still wanted a push bike, but it passed me by.

Ah the Record Sprint (goes all misty eyed and hooks thumbs into braces, sparks clogs on cobbled street) time was that was a top end bike with a 531 tubeset. Then they started coming in butted 501 (nice), then plain gauge 501 (pleasant) and so on, down to what appeard to be second hand steam pipe.

Why did Raleigh did this to so many of their great names? And why do so many people buy a set of 531 transfers and try to sell the cheapest Raleigh they can find on ebay as a top end bike? And why do so many suckers believe them and pay top dollar?

Last year a friend of mine bought a "531" Team Banana on the bay. He brought it around to show me, knowing I was into old bikes. As soon as I saw it I knew it wasn't top end, the seller hadn't even tried, most of the kit was OE. When I picked it up it must have weighed almost twice as much as the genuine article. I've nothing against old heavyweight bikes, but you should get them for a fiver or as salvage. Over a hundred quid is taking the piss a bit.

Bought my first road bike in 1959, a Girardengo. Italian steel. I was 13 years old and delivered newspapers for $20 a month. The LBS sold it to me on payments and my mum cosigned for me. The bike cost $120 and every payday (once a month) I made a $10 payment. I rode every place on that bike. The few things I remember about the bike was that it had a white frame and barcon shifters, hi flange hubs with q/r's and a leather seat. I wish I still had it, I've looked for one for years but no luck. Then I got interested in girls, and you know how that is.

_________________"Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat" 'Classy' Freddie Blassie

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